US: Honda to break Acura as stand-alone division

Acura, which was the first premium brand coming from an Asian automaker will become since April the Acura Division – making good on Honda’s promises to focus more on the brand’s image.

The new Acura Division, which should become operational starting April 1st, would break up from the main company, with its own personnel for management, marketing and other command structures.

“American Honda automotive operations have long been separated by function rather than by brand,” said US Executive Vice President John Mendel on a conference call. “This is a very significant step as it is the first time we have had a separate and exclusive division for the Acura brand. So this move obviously reflects the deep commitment we have for the future of Acura.”

The Divizion would be headed by US Senior Vice President Mike Accavitti, while the Honda namesake division would be led by Jeff Conrad, with both reporting to Mendel. Honda has started to pursue since last year a rework of the luxury brand, which tapped the US market two years before Toyota’s Lexus premium unit, with Tetsuo Iwamura, Honda’s executive vice president and North American chief, acknowledging the brand has problems – especially in its sedan line-up and fixing them became a priority for the automaker.